Analytically determining frequency and amplitude of spontaneous alpha oscillation in Jansen's neural mass model using the describing function method

• 来源期刊: 中国物理B（英文版）
• 关键词: neural mass model spontaneous alpha oscillation describing function
• 年，卷（期）: 2018,（4）
• 页码范围: 551-558
• 页数: 8页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/27/4/048701

摘要

Spontaneous alpha oscillations are a ubiquitous phenomenon in the brain and play a key role in neural information processing and various cognitive functions. Jansen's neural mass model (NMM) was initially proposed to study the origin of alpha oscillations. Most of previous studies of the spontaneous alpha oscillations in the NMM were conducted using numerical methods. In this study, we aim to propose an analytical approach using the describing function method to elucidate the spontaneous alpha oscillation mechanism in the NMM. First, the sigmoid nonlinear function in the NMM is approximated by its describing function, allowing us to reformulate the NMM and derive its standard form composed of one nonlinear part and one linear part. Second, by conducting a theoretical analysis, we can assess whether or not the spontaneous alpha oscillation would occur in the NMM and, furthermore, accurately determine its amplitude and frequency. The results reveal analytically that the interaction between linearity and nonlinearity of the NMM plays a key role in generating the spontaneous alpha oscillations. Furthermore, strong nonlinearity and large linear strength are required to generate the spontaneous alpha oscillations.